every leaf has a story

My mom, Florence Mangen, was born and raised in Chicago. She enlisted in the Navy 14 June 1943 and was one of the WAVES which stands for Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service. She was sent for training to Bronx, NY where they stayed at Hunter College. It was commissioned as the USS Hunter during the war. After spending a month there, she was sent to Washington DC. There she worked in Communications. Her Rank was Specialist Q First Class. The Q meant that she was a Communications Specialist. One of her responsibilities was to take the radar pings that were being transmitted from German submarines to the lighthouses up and down the Atlantic coast and plot out the coordinates. That information was then sent to the naval ships in an attempt to sink the submarine. Below is her badge, notice the Q in the diamond that indicated her specialty.

 She earned the American Campaign Ribbon and the World War II Victory Medal. She was also commended as a member of the Communications Intelligence Organization. Florence Mangen was given an Honorable Discharge 11 November 1945. The same date we celebrate Veteran’s Day.